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Tips on using the unsharp mask
I’ve been messing around with the unsharp mask with only mixed results, so I’m wondering how other people get the most out of it. Thanks!
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12 Replies
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Really? Don’t people use it instead of in camera sharpening? Or do they use the regular sharpening filter? Either way I still need help, the only reason I tried it at all was to fix bad footage.
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Yeah thats what I thought too, but then why do a lot people say to leave sharpening at 0 in the picture profile?
I usually don’t do any kind of sharpening in post, I am just trying to find out how to use it best in case I DO need to use it.
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Lol I am in high school… but thanks. The only reason I think about in camera sharpening at all is that despite the fantastic image on my camera screen (sony a77), it looks much more flat and soft on my computer screen, but I’ve since given up on trying to fix that problem in any way except shooting flat and grading, although that isn’t exactly a fix but it helps. I was only trying the unsharp mask for a few especially bad cases.
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That isn’t what I was saying at all, the best camera is the one thats with you I’m all for that, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to make the footage from that camera you have with you look better. I’m simply trying to get the best out of what I have.
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Just to make a slight sharpening I would use a low radius of .9 – 1.5 and an amount of 75-125. The more you increase the radius the more you will see the signature over sharpening horrible results. Also, a cool little trick to add some contrast to a shot with this filter. Take your radius up real high (35-50) and use a low amount such as (15-25), it give a create contrast effect too flat images.
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Thanks! Do you just leave threshold alone for the most part?
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Elliott,
To an extent Dave is right in that you should shoot the sharpest video you can. On the other hand with Canon DSLR’s specifically we do shoot with the in camera sharpening set at “)” and sharpen in post. Mike’s advice is good, but you need to experiment to see what works best for you and your particular camera. The results of sharpening in CS6 correctly will be much better than you can achieve with in camera sharpening.
Realistically there is no magic solution or formula that I know of for sharpening, though there are many, many more out there more experienced than me. I’ve only been shooting DSLR footage for the last couple of years and before that for 45 year was very much in the Dave LaRonde school of film making. Shoot it correctly and you don’t need to worry about it, however with the new generation of large sensor acquisition that is not so true anymore in some respects.
Although when I was shooting back and white negative and developing it by hand in a rack & tank lab, we could do some pretty amazing things in the dark room…wow…that was more than a couple years ago 🙂
Good Luck…jw
Producer/DP, HD series, “Discoveries…America”, “Discoveries…Ireland”, “Discoveries…Spain”,
“Discoveries…Argentina”, Discoveries…India”, “Discoveries…Asia”, “Discoveries…Africa” -
Thanks for the clarification
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Mike, Do you blend it in with the original footage ?
So 2 adjustment layers with these settings and a blend mode of say 50% ?? -
i find that if I use a duplicated video alpha matte with a shift-alpha luminance with levels alpha white 0.3, i can unsharp without hurting the blacks. looks really good without looking silly. only affects midtones.
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